The city of Annapolis is a short 30 miles from Cherry Hill Park. Given that this is a historic city, containing both the State House and the Naval Academy, it was a pretty easy decision for us to make a day trip!

First stop would be the Naval Academy. Here is a brief history, taken from their website:

"The United States Navy was born during the American Revolution when the need for a naval force to match the Royal Navy became clear. But during the period immediately following the Revolution, the Continental Navy was demobilized in 1785 by an economy-minded Congress.

The dormancy of American seapower lasted barely a decade when, in 1794, President George Washington persuaded the Congress to authorize a new naval force to combat the growing menace of piracy on the high seas.

The first vessels of the new U.S. Navy were launched in 1797; among them were the United States, the Constellation, and the Constitution. In 1825, President John Quincy Adams urged Congress to establish a Naval Academy "for the formation of scientific and accomplished officers." His proposal, however, was not acted upon until 20 years later.

On September 13, 1842, the American Brig Somers set sail from the Brooklyn Navy Yard on one of the most significant cruises in American naval history. It was a school ship for the training of teenage naval apprentice volunteers who would hopefully be inspired to make the Navy a career.

However, discipline deteriorated on the Somers and it was determined by a court of inquiry aboard ship that Midshipman Philip Spencer and his two chief confederates, Boatswains Mate Samuel Cromwell and Seaman Elisha Small, were guilty of a "determined attempt to commit a mutiny."

The three were hanged at the yardarm and the incident cast doubt over the wisdom of sending midshipmen directly aboard ship to learn by doing. News of the Somers mutiny shocked the country.

Through the efforts of the Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, the Naval School was established without Congressional funding, at a 10-acre Army post named Fort Severn in Annapolis, Maryland, on October 10, 1845, with a class of 50 midshipmen and seven professors. The curriculum included mathematics and navigation, gunnery and steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy, and French.

In 1850 the Naval School became the United States Naval Academy. A new curriculum went into effect requiring midshipmen to study at the Academy for four years and to train aboard ships each summer. That format is the basis of a far more advanced and sophisticated curriculum at the Naval Academy today. As the U.S. Navy grew over the years, the Academy expanded. The campus of 10 acres increased to 338. The original student body of 50 midshipmen grew to a brigade size of 4,000. Modern granite buildings replaced the old wooden structures of Fort Severn.

Congress authorized the Naval Academy to begin awarding bachelor of science degrees in 1933. The Academy later replaced a fixed curriculum taken by all midshipmen with the present core curriculum plus 18 major fields of study, a wide variety of elective courses and advanced study and research opportunities.

Since then, the development of the United States Naval Academy has reflected the history of the country. As America has changed culturally and technologically so has the Naval Academy. In just a few decades, the Navy moved from a fleet of sail and steam-powered ships to a high-tech fleet with nuclear-powered submarines and surface ships and supersonic aircraft. The academy has changed, too, giving midshipmen state-of- the-art academic and professional training they need to be effective naval officers in their future careers.

The Naval Academy first accepted women as midshipmen in 1976, when Congress authorized the admission of women to all of the service academies. Women comprise about 13 to 14 percent of entering plebes--or freshmen--and they pursue the same academic and professional training as do their male classmates."

It's a beautiful campus which was mostly deserted on our visit, given that the students are on their summer break. They do offer guided tours but we opted to take the self-guided one which gave us the opportunity to wander around at will. The grounds also contain a very well done museum along with a display of boat models, which we found fascinating.

After a bit of shopping in the historic downtown area of Annapolis, along with lunch, it was off to the State House. This is our 22nd Capitol building and by far the oldest one we will visit. The cornerstone for the current building, the third built at this location, was laid in 1772. Construction wasn't completed until 1779. The Continental Congress met here from November 1783 until August of 1784.

In 2007 a historic preservation project was started. The intent of this preservation project is to remove centuries of change from the original building, taking it back to how it looked in 1779. Juding by what we saw, they've got a bit of work cut out for themselves and it will definately be worth visiting again somewhere down the road!